The Workshop discussion

         

   look at the sparks as they fly from her hand she is beauty, she is magic

      The named, living warlocks of the Shadowhunter Chronicles universe total five if you count Tessa. The number of female warlocks? Two. The stories below capture moments in the lives of four warlocks of my own creation, girls who use their magic to create positive change in the world.

— kaya

this story contains racial slurs and offensive language the author does not condone such language, but several of the characters do. completed

         

   — keira morte — two hundred — african-american —

      The shouts of the men across the road woke Keira up that morning. Their fists shook, and some threw bricks. Like any sensible warlock under siege, she had reinforced her windows the night before, and the bricks slammed into the wall instead. It didn't make it any less irritating, and she strode out into the bitter morning, scarf flailing in the wind.
   "Would you please stop!" she shouted over the roar of cars on the freeway above them. "Throwing bricks isn't going to solve any problems!"
   "What's the matter, darkie? Can't sleep?" It was one of the younger men who said this, and the other men laughed at her.
   "What're you gonna do 'bout it?" another jeered. "Go on, chuck a spear, we're not scared of you."
   Keira resisted the urge to strangle them. Racists were common in this neighbourhood, but generally had enough brains to know that she was not someone they wanted to tangle with. She crossed the road, the pair of handcuffs she always carried jangling cheerfully at her belt. She stepped up to the leader, unclipping the cuffs and snapping them over his wrists.
   "You are under arrest for public nuisance and assaulting an officer of the law. You're all coming with me." The men hadn't listened to a word she said, and as one they rushed at her, striking out with their fists. She dodged the blows, magical wards sending the fists sliding past her as she broke free of the tangle. They turned on her once more, but now her hands shone with golden fire. The magic streamed down her fingers, twisting into two long coils, like whips. "Stop being stupid." Keira raised her hands, and the coils transformed into snakes. "You are under arrest." And with that, she sent them flying backwards into a concrete wall.

            

this story is based on a true event - the black saturday bushfires in 2009, the worst recorded firestorm in australian history.

         
    — taike ilk — four hundred and three — sudanese-aboriginal —

      The heat today was hellish, its sweltering force ensuring there was no dew on the grass to wet Taike's feet as she crossed the back lawn. She reached the apple tree, its thick, dark foliage in stark contrast with the bone-dry land and pale eucalyptus trees. The drought this summer was worse than usual, and only her years of practice had kept the tree alive. Taike checked her watch. It was only six o'clock, which meant she had another hour before she needed to be anywhere. She'd go to the church first, check that the wards were strong enough to withstand bushfires. In this weather, she was extra cautious.
      She'd check on the others after that, moving her way around the town in a clockwise direction until she'd been to everyone, then start walking back to the farm at around eleven thirty. Taike had gone this route so many times it was almost second nature to her.

      At seven fifteen, Taike made her way down the driveway to the road. At the road, she turned and looked back at the farm, before continuing on her half-hour walk to town.
      When she reached the town, she turned onto a small lane shadowed by huge eucalypts, walking up a steep incline to the abandoned church on the hill. As she pushed open the door, the crumbling building vanished, replaced by a proud-looking cathedral with stained-glass images of the angel Raziel. Taike stepped inside, silver-blue light flickering around her as she passed through the wards. She was met inside by the head of the Institute, Imogen Grey.
      "There are several fires already burning out of control, and headed towards this area," Imogen told her as they moved along the rows of demon-tracking equipment. "We believe that at least one of the major fires was started by a fire demon, and three of them are being controlled by the same demon."
   "And you can't send out Shadowhunters to fight the demons," Taike commented, "because they can't withstand the intensity of the heat. So you want me to."
   "Yes," Imogen replied frankly. "We do." She gestured to a map on the wall. "This map shows all the areas hit by demon-fires in the past hours. It will keep adjusting itself and making predictions as to the direction."
   Taike looked at the map in disgust. "I don't need that piece of garbage. Whoever enchanted it for you ought to be sued for fraud." She walked over to a weapons rack and picked up a seraph blade. Imogen looked livid, and spoke in a harsh tone.
   "Put that down. You couldn't use it if you wanted to. Seraph blades only light up for Shadowhunters."
   Taike laughed as the adamas blade shone with white fire. "Indeed. But Theresa Gray is not the only one of her kind. And certainly not the most powerful either." She pulled a second blade from the rack, and strode out the door.

   Fire blazed around her, the flames stealing oxygen from her lungs. Taike strode through the burning forests, her dark skin coated in a thick layer of white ash. Only one seraph blade remained, the other having been destroyed after the second demon. She walked towards the heart of the fire, silver-blue magic streaming from her hands and forming protective bubbles around the homes of the animals living here. Taike doubted it would help much, but perhaps it could prevent the heat from doing too much damage.
   All of a sudden, the heart of the fire reared up, shaping itself into a humanoid figure several feet tall. A rasping voice tumbled from its mouth, forming into words. "Die, daughter of mine."
   She backed away, her seraph blade coming alive as it sensed the demon before it. "Astaroth, leave this place alone, unless you wish to be stabbed through the heart."
   The demon chuckled, watching her as Taike advanced on him. "You are as much of a fool as you were last time we met. One does not simply stab a Greater Demon."
   "One does not simply destroy entire towns!" Taike retorted, standing directly in front of the demon. She glared at him, then abruptly shoved the seraph blade through Astaroth's semi-corporeal heart.